Plot: What’s it about?
A destructive force that has wiped out entire plants and systems of life, Genma possesses immense powers and has only one impulse, to demolish all in his path. And while Genma has already erased half the universe, his reign of terror is not even close to an end and next on his menu of destruction is Earth. In the past, no one has been able to save their homeworlds from Genma’s wrath, but when he arrives to crush Earth, a resistance will be waiting. But right now, only two people know about Genma’s impending presence and the dark fate that lies ahead for the planet, unless Genma can somehow be stopped. The first aware of Genma’s intentions is Vega, who escaped from his own world before it was demolished and now, he plans to visit Earth, warn them of what is coming, and do his best to prevent Genma’s advances. The second person with knowledge of Genma’s plan is Princess Luna, a young Transylvanian girl with psychic talents, ones which enabled her to see the unspeakable doom Genma brings with him. In an effort to fend off Genma’s attacks, the two work to assemble a band of psychic warriors, which could help keep the horrific Genma away, saving the world in the process. But as no other efforts have ever thwarted Genma, its a longshot that this one will, but perhaps this time, Genma will be the one to taste destruction…
As this movie features the talents of both Rintaro (X: The Movie) and Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira), it is sure to grab the attention of anime fans. But while Harmagedon has a lot of talent involved, the results never come close to classic anime status, which is a shame. The main issue is the storyline, which seems on the thin side to start with, then the filmmakers never expand it much, so it never pulls us in as it should. Yes, Harmagedon has some moments and some of the characters are well developed, but there isn’t much depth in terms of overall storyline, not to mention the lack of fleshed out supporting characters. The movie tries to be a large scale epic and sometimes stretches itself too thin, though some of the potential is reached, to be sure. So in spite of the writing flaws, Harmagedon proves to be an effective anime picture, thanks mostly to some impressive battle scenes, solid animation, and an offbeat musical score. The evolution of the battles is to allow each to be bigger and more substantial than the last, which works well within the framework of the story, given the apocalyptic nature of the material. It does seem to pander to children at times with simple moral lessons and basic, overly politically correct characters, but as I said, all that falls aside and Harmagedon stands as a good, solid anime release. This new Collector’s Series edition is the one to own also, as it offers improvements in all areas, which is especially important in this case, since the previous disc was lackluster, to say the least.
Video: How does it look?
Harmagedon is presented in a full frame transfer, as intended. I have read countless complaints about the video quality of the previous release, so fans should be pleased to know this new edition looks terrific. You can tell this is anime with some years behind it, but it doesn’t look like its two decades old, which is good news. The movie runs over two hours in length and with a dual layered disc used here, it has more room to stretch out, whereas the previous disc was a single layered version. I saw no jitters, stutters, or freezes here, which is excellent news, since the prior disc suffered a lot from those ailments. The colors seem bold and bright, while contrast is smooth and consistent throughout. So we’re given a much improved visual effort this time around, so fans can relax and soak in all the visuals.
Audio: How does it sound?
As per usual, Central Park Media has included both English and Japanese soundtracks, though of course, the Japanese choice is the natural one. The dub track loses most of the emotion and impact, since the voice talent seems to be acting as if they’re reading from a phone book, with no real effort made in the least. The original Japanese track sounds good though, with effective voice talent that brings across the emotion needed, as this is a movie about the end of the world, so emotion would be almost constant. The unusual musical score comes through well also, while the sound effects pack a nice punch, a solid overall presentation. This disc also includes optional English subtitles, should you need those.
Supplements: What are the extras?
An audio commentary with director Rintaro kicks off the extras, which includes a lot of talk on how the project evolved, where it came from, and his thoughts on where it stacks up in the anime world now. Although Rintaro speaks Japanese in this session, his comments are subtitled in English and are simple to follow, so no worries there. An additional interview with Rintaro is also found on this disc, which contains even more insight from the anime pioneer, another great inclusion. This disc also includes some talent files, a look at Harmagedon’s place in anime history, some bonus artwork, and the film’s trailer.
